The next entry for my Blog is Amazing Grace, which was written by John Newton in 1772 and first published in 1779. A link to Celtic Woman performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.
Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind but now I see
Was Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace, my fears relieved
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed
Through many dangers, toils and snares
We have already come
T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far
And Grace will lead us home
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind but now I see
This is perhaps one of the greatest and most renowned hymns ever written. It has been around for almost 250 years and my assumption is that it is in most Christian hymnals. Just the name of the song tells us a great story of what God did for all of us. When thinking about the meaning, it is definitely a sweet sound. I don’t think the word “amazing”, in this case, can be adequately described by words. God created us and when we went too far off track in our lives and actions, he sent his son to come and die for us. Some of the amazing aspects are that he sent a part of him to us from a heaven of perfection. He allowed his only son to suffer everyday as he was ridiculed and rejected. He let him be beaten. He let him die on the cross. And then he completed his plan by allowing Christ to rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. How amazing is that, that God loved us this much??? As wonderful as this is, God took one more step, he wiped our slate clean of all of our past, present, and future sins via his grace. We are/were so undeserving of his love, yet he loved us enough to make sure we have a home in eternity with him. God sacrificed his only son for all of mankind and the only thing God asks of us is that we accept his son as our personal savior. As we accept Christ, we become suddenly aware of the bright eternal future that God has prepared for us, our hidden destination has been completely revealed to us.
The sound of the word “Grace” should bring us to our knees since no one else can offer this gift to us. In the purest sense, grace is defined as when we get what we don’t deserve. In the context of Christianity, there is no word more powerful. We all have the exact same opportunity, despite our past. In the grand scheme of life, aren’t we all wretched in some way? Maybe it is our heart, our thoughts, or our actions; or perhaps just the way we view life. The word wretch, as defined in the old English, is associated with a banished person, someone despicable, or perhaps someone who seems perpetually unhappy. My personal view is that deep inside, most of us are unhappy in some way. Maybe our unhappiness stems from relationships, jobs, finances, or just general misfortune. When Christ was sent to die for us, he gave us the promise of a perfect eternity. It doesn’t mean we won’t experience negative challenges in our life, it just means that we will never face these alone and that every barrier put in front of us is very temporary when compared to eternity with him in heaven. With him, we no longer have to be wretched, we are no longer wandering around lost in our lives, and we no longer have to worry about what the ultimate future brings.
As we begin to understand grace, we come closer to understanding the heart of God and how he despises evil. When the bible refers to fear the Lord, it means to respect the Lord and his message for each of us. Proverbs 8:13 tells us, “To honor the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil ways and false words.” If we fear/respect the Lord, we will despise these same things; we will be transformed as opposed to conforming to the world around us. There is no doubt that we will be assailed by the world and its message every single day of our lives, but we can know that at the end of the day, God has been there to protect our soul from anything Satan and his groupies have thrown at us. The day we accepted Christ as our personal savior, is the day we received the full power of God’s love and protection. It was on this day that we became his forever and that all of our sins passed away.
Take a little time today, or maybe right now, to reflect on all of the trials you have had in your life, and how each of these helped to make you who you are. The song refers to these as dangers, toils, and snares; a pretty good description of life’s journey. What did you learn from each challenge and how each made you a stronger and better person? As a Christian, it is nice to know that God is with us every step of the way and that he forgives and forgets every mistake we make during our journey through life. This is what grace is all about, we can go through life unencumbered with guilt and shame if we just turn everything over to him. Just as he has been there with us in the past and present, he is still there to walk with us as we continue on the path to our eternal home. The grace that has been given to us will never fail us, no matter how far off track our journey will sometimes take us. With God’s love, the forgiveness we received by accepting Christ, and the power of grace; there is nothing that we have to fear and there is nothing that Satan can throw at us that we can’t overcome.
Isn’t grace truly amazing?